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Auto Glass Week 2023 Opens in Virginia Beach with Record Attendance and AI Discussion
The biggest Auto Glass Week in the event's history opened September 20, 2023, at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, featuring competition rounds, AI applications in the glass industry as a central educational theme, and the presentation of the 2023 Safety Recognition Award to a California calibration specialist.
Auto Glass Week 2023 opened September 20 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and drew the largest attendance in the show's history. The three-day event — running through September 22 — packed educational sessions, technical competitions, an exhibitor hall, and networking activities into the industry's marquee annual gathering.
The opening session featured the presentation of the 2023 Auto Glass Safety Recognition Award to Jacques Navant, technical director for The Calibration Station, Don's Mobile Glass, and frogitout tools, all based in California. Navant, who had worked in the auto-glass industry for 29 years — beginning with a summer job after high school — also served on the board of the Auto Glass Safety Council and chaired its ADAS committee.
Artificial intelligence emerged as the dominant educational theme of the 2023 event. Todd Ackerman, CEO of Neural Claim System, gave a session on AI applications in the automotive glass industry and cited industry projections of roughly $13 trillion in AI value-creation potential by 2030. Ackerman described specific AI use cases for the glass industry: decoding OEM build data, generating pre-install intelligence for glass installers, powering telematics-based usage-based insurance, and supporting training and knowledge sharing.
"AI is a growing reality. How you choose to deal with it is up to you," Ackerman told attendees. "Technology awaits no one. AI is unfolding before us. It's impacting our daily lives and impacting our businesses. How we embrace or reject is up to us."
The competition schedule drew technicians from across North America to compete in windshield repair, windshield replacement, calibration, and customer service categories. Winners across all categories were announced September 28.
Olympic snowboarder Shaun White made an appearance at the event — an unexpected celebrity presence that illustrated the organizers' ambition to elevate the event's profile beyond a traditional trade show format and attract mainstream attention to the auto-glass profession.
Key Takeaways
- •Auto Glass Week 2023 was the largest in the event's history, drawing record attendance to Virginia Beach for competitions, education, and networking.
- •Artificial intelligence was the dominant educational theme, with sessions covering AI applications in claims processing, installer intelligence, and customer interaction.
- •The 2023 Safety Recognition Award went to Jacques Navant, California-based ADAS specialist — highlighting the growing importance of calibration expertise in industry leadership.